Monthly Archives: June 2016

Last week, there were many storms and floods across eastern Australia, and it was causing a lot of problems. A big one was that this storm would have more effect in some parts of this place than others. The coastline is getting the most storms and flooding, where many homes are badly damaged. Here’s why it was particularly bad on the coastline, and if there’s anything we can do about it.

It started from Queensland right down to Tasmania, that coastline took quite a hit during those storms! From gardens and decks being ripped apart to houses that are now permanently damaged, even a backyard pool couldn’t escape the waves from this natural disaster! And as everyone knows, storms happen to hit a lot in Australia, but this one seemed to hit harder than most. So, why was that?

Well, there were 2 major factors to making this storm so hideous, and one of them was erosion. Erosion is a natural force and it’s always around us. Its part of the cycle that forms coasts, shapes mountain ranges, and digs out caves. But during really violent weather it happens faster, since lots of rain goes out to sea to make the wave’s pound hard against the beach.

An example of erosion is this:

Imagine having some sand from the beach in a tub (the sand isn’t flat, some overlaps each other to make it look like a beach/cliff). Now imagine putting some water in and using a paddle to make small waves. After a little bit, the shape of the beach/cliff starts to change (starts to crumble and fall apart). That’s erosion.

But erosion wasn’t the only main factor that made this storm horrendous, the other one was the unfortunate timing of a king tide. Tides are the movement of the sea level, when they go up and down each day. This basically happens because of the moon. The moon’s gravity pulls at the Earth, which creates a small bulge in the water that is closest to where the moon is in the sky. As earth rotates around, with the moon moving with it, the bulge also moves around the earth as well, which is creating high and low tides.

But there’s the exceptional king tide. This is when every now and then the sun lines up with the moon, so their gravity’s are combined to pull on the oceans even more. And with higher waves, the beaches can be washed away even faster.

So it’s no surprise that lately scientists have been worried about erosion around Australia’s coastal areas. They’re saying that there are now more buildings along the beach but less plants to hold the dunes together.

That’s why there are groups of people stepping in to help keep our coastlines safe. And their doing this by planting little plants to help hold dunes together. This helps because once you’ve planted the plants, after a while, the roots sink in. So if the wind’s damaging the sand, the roots will hold it all together (because the roots are holding all the sand and dirt together, the dirt will help our sand dunes so it doesn’t erode away).

More planting is one option, but other researchers say that we just desperately need to stop building so close to the beach. And the reason is simple, big storms and erosion come with beaches and they’re a natural part of life in Australia.

An understanding I now have is how important zoning houses is in Australia. If you have a house to close to the beach, you don’t just get a good view, you get a permanently wrecked disaster (if a storm happens with erosion or a king tide). And imagine what would happen if a tsunami came? So now I realise how important of zoning houses so that everyone’s safe.

2 question I have are:

How does the government decide what houses you’re allowed to live in (procedure)?

Have there been any houses allowed to be live in that the government didn’t realise weren’t safe? If so, what about them made the government make the mistake?

An airplane swept over me, my stomach flipping. Already that’s a bad sign, unless the passenger next to me doesn’t mind some eaten, yellow banana on them (the last one did). I can’t help it; I’ve always had a fear of heights. And the worst part is, I just don’t know why.

I walk towards the plane, my hands shaking. I wish I had my violin… that would make me less nervous. But that’s the reason why I’m going on this plane, to go to Julliard. I’m nervous, but this is my dream. And I’m not going to let some fear get in the way.

Since this week is Reconciliation Week, a lot of people go to special ceremonies to remember how big of a help Australia’s Indigenous Veterans were. We remember the service they gave to us and the sacrifice they gave and we honour them. So, here’s a report about a class of high school kids who volunteered to help out at one of these ceremonies, and decided to create a book that tells the stories of Indigenous veterans from their area.

There were so many Indigenous people who fought for our country. How about Warrant Officer Leonard Waters, who was the first Indigenous man accepted into the Royal Australian Air Force (he served in World War 2). Or Private James Maynard, who got injured in 1918 (during World War 1). And Charles Allie, who fought in the light horse brigade in World War 1. And last but not least Warrant Officer John Enchong, who fought in Malaya and the Korean War. There were so many Indigenous people who have fought for our country, and there’s a lot of Indigenous people who still do.

But are they the first people who come into your mind when you think about the armies who fought (and still fight) for Australia? That’s why a class of high school kids are trying to raise awareness about these Indigenous soldiers, and their doing that by highlighting their stories in a book.

The book is called Generations of Service and it has the stories of 8 completely different Indigenous families who all served in world wars and other conflicts. All the kids in that class worked on it together. In groups, they would have to find out about a certain family who were connected to serving in a war/ conflict and write about them. They set to work researching and most kids actually had email correspondence with their families, as well as looking through the national archives (everyone was allowed to do that). And some lucky kids got to speak to someone the family they got, one of the groups got to interview Tara Enchong twice! After searching through archives and talking to the veterans’ relatives, they finally built a picture of each family’s history.

And the truly inspiring thing about finding out about the certain family’s history, is that these school kids discovered brand new information about the family itself! For example, a group interviewed Bradley Maynard, a man who is serving for the army in Tasmania. They researched about his family and went all the way back to World War 1, and found out about people (in his family) who he didn’t even know about!

Kids in that class were saying that it was much better to get involved and personally get to know the topic, or in this case, the families. They also said it was much better to do it this way than to get the information off a text book. Also, these kids have stated that these people haven’t been really recognised for what they had done, and they need to be recognised because they deserve it. Even though these people have fought for Australia for generations, Indigenous people weren’t always allowed to be in the military.

At the start of World War 1, people who didn’t come from a European background weren’t allowed to sign up. But that didn’t stop the 1000 (even more) Indigenous people, who still found their way onto the frontlines overseas. And over the years, these people have died in conflicts to protect our country.

So that’s one of the main reasons why Indigenous Veterans Ceremonies are held to remember the fallen. And after writing their book, some of the high school kids in that class decided to help out at this year’s ceremony in Adelaide. They’ve never done this before so it’s going to be a different experience for them, but they’re all very excited!

Also, many of the people at the ceremony thanked those school kids for their work on the book. Tara Enchong said that she loved working with them and she loved how passionate they were about our history, and how passionate they were about wanting to share the stories. She said it really means a lot to her and she could tell that they were going to be great future leaders.

And a serviceman even sent a message to them from Afghanistan! Private Robert Thatcher said he was truly honoured and proud to have been a part of their project, and he hopes they were proud of what they’d achieved. He stated that they didn’t just create stories, they’d published history.

Those school kids that went to the ceremony said that it was really inspiring that they can come together to recognise what they’ve done in the past. And they can all connect with this one thing, this one amazing thing.

An understanding I know have is how much this problem was maximising. Finding out how the Indigenous weren’t even allowed to protect their own country, I am so happy that they are now getting more recognised for their achievements.

2 questions I have are:

Who was the first Indigenous person to have anything to do with the army?

On the 2nd of June, the 5/6’s did a very special event with their prep buddies. See, the prep buddies were learning about eating healthy, and they wanted to share that learning with the 5/6s. So, on the day that the 5/6’s go see them (every Thursday we help them with an activity), they were surprised and excited to find out that they were going to create a healthy piece of art! They were to help the buddies create a face out of healthy pieces of fruit and vegetables, and then you could make one yourself The base had to be a piece of wholegrain bread, though you didn’t have to make one at all.

This is the one my buddy made:

Overall, this activity was the most fun I’ve had with my buddie this year, and it was a great learning experience.

The headache is getting bigger. It feels like a migraine, though Mum says that’s over exaggerating. I’m also tired. Very tired. Like, so tired that I feel as if there’s little angels around me singing lullabies. I tell them to shut up, but of course, mum thinks I’m bonkers. Is SHE inside my head? Does SHE know how I’m feeling? Has she realized that I’ve got a big headache? That I’m tired. That I’m thirsty. That I’m hungry for chocolate. OF COURSE NOT!!!!

Mum walks in with that sleep medicine. Speak of the devil.

I drink it.

A whistle blew and everyone disappeared.

The goal I had for this wee is to try to make my piece more funny/ kid appropriate. So I channeled what I feel like when I’m sick, to what I’ve seen and heard when other people are sick, to create a story on a kids perspective on how they feel when their unwell. I feel I have competed my goal really well, and I decided I like this genre a lot and will try to write in it more often.

The Murray River is an amazing place to go, and it’s also one of Australia’s most important water systems. It spread over 3 states and its catchment area is the 3rd biggest on earth! But it also has some challenges it’s facing. On Monday 6th of June, BTN will premiere ‘River Kids’, a documentary that tells the story of the Murray River through the eyes of the people that live alongside it. But today I’m reflecting on the sneak peek BTN has produced. Here’s an article on what the Ngarrindjeri people think of the Murray River.

Did you know that the Ngarrindjeri people have a dance for the river? It is told that it calls on their ancestors to put the spirit back into the land and water to heal it. These people have lived at the Coorong for tens of thousands of years, the place where the river meets the sea. But now we call this place Murrundi, or as you know it, the Murray.

The story the Ngarrindjeri believe of this river starts where the Murray and the Darling meet. A man called Ngurunderi is looking for his 2 wives, and as he’s looking for them, he goes underwater and he sees a fish. A giant river cod called Ponde. He chases the fish but he can’t catch it, so he gets his brother-in-law, Nepele to help him. Nepele ends up spearing the fish and Ngurunderi cuts it into tiny pieces. Every little piece represents a new live, many lives out of one. That’s why the Ngarrindjeri people look up to Ngurunderi, because they believe he gave life.

So, aboriginal people go on their canoes (made from the bark of red gum trees) and fish the river for food. And, if you travel along the river, you can still see canoe trees (some of them are hundreds of years old). These trees look like this:

But when these people are canoeing, most of them remember how the river used to be.

When you’d used to go out hunt for fish in the Murray, you’d be able to see the fish swimming in the nets. Now you can’t. When you used to look in the Murray (Coorong), you would be looking into clear water. Now the water is changing to a different colour, a less pure one. Fish are dying, birds are dying, the lakes are dying, the river is dying, and sadly, Coorong is dying. And guess who made this happen. That’s right, the European settlers made this place a nature disaster. They changed the river so they could use it as transport and for farming. They built irrigation pipes and channels to take the water to towns and farms.

40% of the food grown in Australia actually comes from the Murray- Darling Basin. And without irrigation, then the Murray- Darling Basin wouldn’t be irrigated. And if it wasn’t irrigated, than that 40% of food we get, we wouldn’t have (because we wouldn’t have enough water to water the plants).

Thankfully, people are starting to realise that you just can’t take anything from the river. And part of that is understanding more about how it works and wat you can do about it. So, people are now going to the river and learning about the science of it all. The main reason why these people are going is because they realise how important it is for everyone to learn the science of the river. And they’re doing this because it’s our environment and we have to look after it (because everything we do affects the environment, even the tiniest things make a difference).

People are starting to say things that we should be listening to. For example, most are saying that we have to start changing how we treat our environment because if we don’t, the earth won’t last that long. Imagine if we didn’t have rivers in Australia, it would be a lot duller. Also, rivers brings us together and bring us life (fish), what would we do without them?

An understanding I now have is how much some people care about the river. I knew a lot of people did, but I never saw it through the eyes of that perspective.

I looked at the statue next to me, my mind filling with questions. Where is he from? Who is he? What inspired people to create a statue of him? Is he important? Is he famous? What backstory does he have? I bookmark my page and stare at the man. The man who can’t be moved. A gripping title for sure but what plot? What theme to grip the readers by the hook? What spark to make them feel something? Something inspiring, something unique. The answer came to me right then, and that’s how the best-selling book “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” was published.

My goal for this week is to really focus on my word choice, and to make it a different genre. For example, my word choice this week wasn’t to make it sound really happy or sad. It was to make it sound wise, and to make it sound inquisitive (which is why I also worked on putting more questions into my writing). I feel as if I have achieved this goal very well, and I hope you liked my piece as much as I did writing it.